If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you probably know that I love African Grays and always wanted one to get to know, and the big test of this desire came when I had the chance to rescue two special needs Congo African Grays (CAGs). One, Bo Dangles, has no toes and likes to hang by her beak from time to time; I’ve written a lot about her because she’s the most talkative of my parrots and fun to interact with. The other one was Blind Io, named for a Terry Pratchett character, and yes: he’s blind.
We know Bo lost her toes when her parents were frightened and attacked her, but we have no idea why Io is blind or when he lost his sight. Change scares him completely: when we put him in a carrier to bring him home, he put his head in a corner, scratched relentlessly with one foot, and cried out the entire way. But when we stopped moving and put him in a cage of his own, he settled down, then he did a little exploring to figure out where things were in the cage.
We did try to put him with Bo, thinking they would be company for each other, but Bo would chase him, pull his feathers, and laugh like a maniac. Oh, well. They have been in separate cages next to each other since then, and have been much happier that way.
The woman who raised these two birds had also kept a pair of slightly overweight pugs, and Io would frequently pant and whine as we imagine these dogs used to. He didn’t talk, really, but he would shout “Whoop-Oh!” sometimes. He really wasn’t, and still isn’t, a very noisy parrot, although he does the wolf whistle like a pro. He also seems to know when Mike and I have done something that needs a whistle flourish. The worst habit he has is throwing his food out of his dish.
In the time we have had him, which is about twelve years now, he has started saying his name and comes to the side of the cage to let me pet his beak. He loves when he gets part of an ear of corn on a skewer, and he tries to bathe in his water dish occasionally. He loves being sprayed with the water bottle probably more than any of the other birds. I spray him last so he can hear the sprayer as I moisten the other birds, and when it’s his turn, he makes happy noises and fluffs his feathers.
My recently acquired CAG, Jesse, is enamored of Io; Io is the only male Gray in the house, so that’s not a surprise. She likes to be held next to his cage so they can tug on each other’s beaks, but she’s not sure why his eyes don’t dilate when he looks at her.
Some years ago, I put a lot of cardboard boxes in the cages and Io loves to chew and rip his to pieces. He has a nice collection of toys that he hasn’t chewed up and a few wooden remnants hanging around that need to be replaced. It’s so much fun to watch him discover a new toy or new boxes and start to take them apart. He has one long item that resembles a log, but it’s a clay of some sort, and there are peanuts embedded in the clay; he’s been working on that one for years and almost has the last nut removed. Io is one determined bird.
This special needs parrot has been as much fun as any of the other birds in the flock. He loves the limited interaction we have and entertains us with all his noises and whistles. I hope if you ever have a chance to take in a special needs parrot, you will consider it an honor to share your life with a special bird.
Thank you for reading; I’ll be back next Sunday.
In Loco Parrotus 